Architecture for managing transmedia content data

ABSTRACT

A system for managing non-linear transmedia content data is provided. Memory stores a plurality of transmedia content data items and associated linking data which define time-ordered content links between the plurality of transmedia content data items. The plurality of transmedia content data items are arranged into linked transmedia content subsets comprising different groups of the transmedia content data items and different content links therebetween. A control engine receives one or more instructions to create a new time-ordered content link between at least two of the plurality of transmedia content data items. The control engine modifies the linking data stored in the memory to include the new time-ordered content link.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to apparatus, systems and methods forprocessing transmedia content. For example, the present disclosureimplements interconnected devices for managing the processing oftransmedia content in a networked environment, where such content may begenerated by multiple users and shared between them.

BACKGROUND

Influenced by a variety of different multimedia content types, newdigital distribution channels, mobile communication devices and an everincreasing use of social media, industry is currently experiencing adisruption in how media is created, distributed and consumed. Classicalproduction pipelines have become less effective as audiences movetowards anytime, anywhere, personalized consumption, substitutingTV-centric models with multi-device, multichannel models. Individualcustomers and groups of customers have also become more interactive andparticipatory, contributing significantly to the creation of new media.The cycles in the traditional creation-distribution-consumption loopbecome much shorter as consumers constantly provide feedback, resultingin a trend towards ultrashort form content.

Existing delivery platforms, for example YouTube and Facebook, allow forthe creation and editing of simple channel based content, using a basicmodel whereby content creators can upload content such as video, text orimages, and users can consume the content in an isolated, linear andmono-medial manner. This can often be done in conjunction with mediapresented via other platforms such as television or print media.

At the same time, functionality provided by existing multimediaplatforms allows the sharing of user-generated content, which, alongwith social networking, is transforming the media ecosystem. Mobilephones, digital cameras and other pervasive devices produce huge amountsof data that users can continuously distribute in real time.Consequently, content sharing and distribution needs will continue toincrease. The content can be of many different forms, known collectivelyas “transmedia” content.

Existing systems that allow users to generate, organize and sharecontent are generally hard to control: these systems do not offeradequate tools for predicting what the next big trend will be, and whichgroupings of time-ordered content resonate with particular audiences.Furthermore, visualising the large amount of multimedia information in away which users can explore and consume is challenging. In particular,visualisation of such large data sets is challenging in terms ofperformance, especially on lower-power devices such as smartphones ortablets. It is desirable that any visualisation of the data could berendered in real time such that immediate visual feedback is provided toa user exploring the data.

In addition, the ever-growing availability of content to multiple usersand the ever-increasing power of computing resources available toindividual users is driving users towards their own individual creationof content, with such content being in multiple formats. Thisprogression can be seen in FIG. 1. User 10 consumes single content items15. With increasing computing resources, user 20 has developed into aninteractive user making choices which affect the flow of individualcontent items 25 to the user 20. Further, user 30 has recently becomemore common by generating multiple personalised, individual contentitems 35 which can be accessed over the Internet 50 by other users. Aproblem now exists with a current user 40 who can access a considerableamount of different types of content items 35 over the Internet 50 anddesires to utilise such content. It would be desirable for user 40 to beable to contribute to and generate new structured groups 46 of linkedcontent items 45.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a first aspect of this disclosure, there is provided an apparatus formanaging non-linear transmedia content data comprising:

-   -   a memory configured to store a plurality of transmedia content        data items and associated linking data which define time-ordered        content links between the plurality of transmedia content data        items, the plurality of transmedia content data items being        arranged into linked transmedia content subsets comprising        different groups of the transmedia content data items and        different content links therebetween;    -   processing circuitry, in communication with the memory,        configured to utilise a control engine to:    -   receive, from an electronic device, one or more instructions to        create a new time-ordered content link between at least two of        the plurality of transmedia content data items; and    -   modify the linking data stored in the memory to include the new        time-ordered content link.

The aforementioned apparatus permits users to generate, organize andshare transmedia content items. In particular, the aforementionedapparatus permits users to group transmedia content into linked subsets.

The apparatus may be implemented as a computing device, for example aserver computing device, e.g. at a back end.

In a second aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a systemcomprising the aforementioned apparatus; and an electronic deviceconfigured to be in communication with the apparatus, and furtherconfigured to receive user input and thereby communicate with theprocessor and provide the one or more instructions to create each newtime-ordered content link between the at least two of the plurality oftransmedia content data items.

The electronic device may be implemented as user equipment, which may bea computing device at a front end, for example a client computingdevice, such as personal computer, laptop or a handheld computingdevice. For example, the handheld computing device may be a mobile phoneor smartphone. The electronic device may include a user input interfaceconfigured to provide user input to the processing circuitry, such asfor example the instructions to create a new time-ordered content link.This may be one or more of a keypad or touch-sensitive display. Theelectronic device may include a display (which may include thetouch-sensitive display) configured to output data to a user interactingwith the electronic device, including one or more of the content dataitems.

The electronic device may be configured to be in communication with theapparatus via a wired and/or wireless network connection. At least partof the networked connection may be established over the Internet.

The system may further comprise a plurality of electronic devices eachconfigured to receive user input and thereby communicate with theprocessor and provide instructions to create time-ordered content linksbetween at least three of the plurality of transmedia content dataitems.

The memory may be further configured to store: a plurality of user dataitems, each data item being associated with a user of the system,wherein each user of the system may be associated with one or more ofthe user data items.

The plurality of user data items may comprise at least useridentification data for each user of the system. The plurality of userdata items may comprise a user profile for each user of the system. Theuser profile may comprise, for the each user of the system, one or moreof: user preference data pertaining to the each user's preferences; userbehaviour data pertaining to the each user's online behaviours; userinteraction data pertaining to the each user's interaction with otherusers; and/or user location data pertaining to the current determinedand/or past determined location of the each user.

The processing circuitry may be further configured to provide a usermodelling engine configured to identify user interaction of a given userwith the one or more content items and update the user interaction dataof the given user to be indicative of the one or more transmedia contentitems thereby interacted with.

The memory may be further configured to store a plurality of contentcharacterisation data items, each content characterisation data itemcharacterizing one or more of the transmedia content data items, whereineach content characterisation data item is associated with at least oneor with a plurality of the content data items.

The each content characterisation data item may characterize one or moreof the transmedia content data items with one or more of the following:

-   -   auditory characterisation data pertaining to one or more        auditory components of the one or more transmedia content data        items;    -   visual characterisation data pertaining to one or more visual        components of the one or more transmedia content data items;    -   textual characterisation data pertaining to one or more textual        components of the one or more transmedia content data items; and    -   interaction characterisation data pertaining to one or more        interactive components of the one or more transmedia content        data items.

The processing circuitry may be further configured to provide a contentsubset modelling engine configured to process at least one contentcharacterisation data item for each transmedia content data item in agiven transmedia content subset and thereby generate unique subsetcharacterisation data for the given transmedia content subset based onthe processed characterisation data.

The processing circuitry may be further configured to provide arecommender engine configured to process the characterisation data itemsand the user data items for a given user and identify, from thecharacterisation data items, transmedia content data items which aresufficiently similar to preferred content items of the given user andsurface the sufficiently similar items to the given user.

The transmedia content data items may relate to narrative elements ofthe transmedia content data items. The time-ordered content links candefine a narrative order of the transmedia content data items.

Each time-ordered content link may defines a directional link from afirst transmedia content data item to a second transmedia content dataitem of the plurality of transmedia content data items. The firsttransmedia content data item may have a plurality of outgoingtime-ordered content links. The second transmedia content data item mayhave a plurality of incoming time-ordered content links.

The memory may be further configured to store a plurality of subsetentry points for the plurality of transmedia content subsets. Eachsubset entry point may be a flag indicating a transmedia content dataitem that has at least one outgoing time-ordered link and no incomingtime-ordered links.

Each linked transmedia content subset may define a linear path, whereina linear path can comprise a subset entry point, one or more transmediacontent data items and one or more time ordered links between the subsetentry point and the transmedia content data items.

Two or more transmedia content subsets may share one or more subsetentry points, one or more transmedia content data items and/or one ormore time ordered content links.

The processing circuity may be configured to transmit transmedia contentdata comprising the linking data and one or more of the transmediacontent items to the electronic device.

The electronic device can be configured to receive the transmediacontent data. The electronic device may be configured to output thetransmedia content data on an output device connected to the electronicdevice such that a user of the electronic device is presented with thetransmedia content data items.

The electronic device may be configured to accept input, via a userinput interface, indicative of a subset entry point. The electronicdevice may be configured to output the transmedia content data itemindicated by the selected subset entry point. The electronic device maybe configured to display each subsequent transmedia content data item inturn according to the time-ordered links between the transmedia contentdata items.

The electronic device may be configured to receive input, via a userinput interface, indicative of one of a plurality of transmedia contentsubsets when the currently output transmedia content data item is sharedamong the plurality of transmedia content subsets. The electronic devicemay be configured to receive input, via the user input interface, toskip a selected transmedia content data item and output to display aselected transmedia content data item.

The electronic device may further implement a communication layer,wherein the transmedia content data can be received via thecommunication layer and instructions are provided to the processor viathe communication layer. The communication layer may be configured tocheck that a user account associated with the electronic device ispermitted to view the transmedia content data and/or provide one or moreinstructions to create a new time-ordered content link between at leasttwo of the plurality of transmedia content data items.

The communication layer may be configured to prevent the electronicdevice from outputting the transmedia content data and/or providing oneor more instructions to create a new time-ordered content link if theuser account is not permitted.

The system may further comprise an experience control layer, wherein theprocessing circuitry may be configured to transmit the transmediacontent data to the electronic device via the experience control layer,and wherein instruction to create a new-time ordered content link can bereceived from the electronic device via the experience control layer.

The experience control layer may be configured to check that a useraccount associated with the electronic device is permitted to view thetransmedia content data and/or provide one or more instructions tocreate a new time-ordered content link between at least two of theplurality of transmedia content data items.

The communication layer may be configured to prevent the electronicdevice from outputting the transmedia content data and/or providing oneor more instructions to create a new time-ordered content link if theuser account is not permitted.

In a third aspect of this disclosure, there is provided acomputer-implemented method for managing non-linear transmedia contentdata comprising:

providing a memory configured to store a plurality of transmedia contentdata items and associated linking data which define time-ordered contentlinks between the plurality of transmedia content data items;

arranging the plurality of transmedia content data items into linkedtransmedia content subsets comprising different groups of the transmediacontent data items and different content links therebetween;

receiving one or more instructions to create a new time-ordered contentlink between at least two of the plurality of transmedia content dataitems; and

modifying the linking data stored in the memory to include the newtime-ordered content link.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in exemplary embodiments below withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts how users interact with content items according to thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C depict a linear transmedia content subset, groupednon-linear transmedia content subsets, and a subset universerespectively, each formed of multiple transmedia content data items andtime-ordered content links.

FIG. 3 depicts the architecture of the system of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary apparatus on which the back end of thepresent disclosure operates.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary apparatus on which the front end of thepresent disclosure operates.

FIG. 6 depicts exemplary non-linear networks of transmedia content dataitems according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary preference model component of therecommender engine component according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 depicts a user model component of the system.

FIGS. 9A and 9B depict exemplary user interfaces that are rendered andoutput by the system.

FIG. 10 depicts a process for modifying the linking data according tothe present disclosure.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure provides for a new apparatus, system and methodfor managing transmedia content. In one embodiment, there is disclosed aplatform for the creation, distribution and consumption of transmediacontent. The content may be arranged in a time-ordered manner forconsumption, thereby defining so-called “story” based content.

In the context of the present disclosure, groups of time-orderedcontent, for example in the form of stories, are made up of multipleelements of transmedia content, each being referred to herein as atransmedia content data items. Each item can pertain to a narrativeelement of the story. Each transmedia content data item may be linked,and thus connected, to one or more other transmedia content data itemsin an ordered fashion such that a user can navigate through subsets ofthe transmedia content data items (also referred to as transmediacontent subsets) in a time-ordered fashion to consume some or all of anentire story.

The term “transmedia” means that the grouped content data items (whichare linked within the content subsets) comprise a plurality of differentmultimedia types, e.g. at least two different types of multimediacontent. For example, the different types of transmedia content data ofeach content data item within the subset can comprise at least twodifferent types from one or more of the following: textual data, imagedata, video data, audio data, animation data, graphical visualization orUI data, hypertext data, gaming data, interactive experience data,virtual reality (VR) data, augmented reality data, and multisensoryexperience data. Each transmedia content data item may itself comprisemultiple media types, e.g. video and audio data may be present within asingle item such that the audio is time-associated associated with thevideo.

The transmedia content data items can be grouped into transmedia contentsubsets. Each subset may be grouped based on one or more non-linearnetwork of the content data items.

Within each transmedia content subset, transmedia content data items arelinked to one another, directly or indirectly, by time-ordered linksbetween each data item. Typically, each time ordered-content link linkstwo transmedia content data items. An exception exists for a timeordered link which connects a subset entry point and a transmediacontent data item as explained below. The time-ordered link also definesa direction between the two transmedia content data items. The directionindicates an order in which linked transmedia content data items shouldbe presented to a user of the system. For example, when a firsttransmedia content data item is presented to a user, at least oneoutgoing time-ordered link (i.e. the direction defined by the link isaway from the first transmedia content data item) indicates a secondtransmedia content item that should be presented to the user next.

The term “subset” is used to denote a subset of transmedia content dataitems within the set of all transmedia content data items stored by thesystem. The transmedia content data items that are part of a transmediacontent subset are all directly or indirectly connected to each viatime-ordered content links between the transmedia content data items. Atransmedia content subset may be a linear, i.e. each transmedia contentdata item in the subset has at most one incoming time-ordered contentlink and one outgoing time-ordered content link, or a non-linearnetwork, i.e. one or more of the constituent transmedia content dataitems has more than one incoming or outgoing time-ordered content link.It will also be appreciated a non-linear network of transmedia contentdata items can be considered to be made up of multiple overlappinglinear paths from start-point to end-point through that network, andthat each linear path may also be considered to be a transmedia contentsubset. Furthermore, the term “group” has been used to denote acollection of transmedia content data items that are not necessarilyconnected, directly or indirectly, via time-ordered content links.However, where the term “group” has been used, a “subset” of transmediacontent data items, as defined above, may additionally be formed andutilised.

Each time-ordered link is stored in memory as link data comprising: theinput content data item; and the output content data item and thusimplicitly a direction between two content data items. Directional datafor the links is also stored which defines the path the links should beprocessed, and thus the order for processing of transmedia contentitems. The order can also be dependent on user interaction with eachitem as it is surfaced to a user.

Examples of transmedia content subsets are depicted in FIGS. 2A, 2B and2C. As mentioned above, the transmedia content data items are groupedinto transmedia content subsets.

In FIG. 2A, subset 100 defines a linear path of transmedia content dataitems 104 a-c. The subset 100 also comprises a subset entry point 102,which defines a starting point in the subset from which the system cancommence presenting the transmedia content data items within the subset.The subset entry point 102 may be linked to the first transmedia contentdata item 104 a by a time-ordered link, or may be a flag associated withthe first transmedia content data item 104 a which indicates that thetransmedia content data item 104 a is the first in the subset.

In the context of the present disclosure, the term “linear” means thateach transmedia content data item has, at most, only one incomingtime-ordered line (i.e. the direction defined by the link is inwardstowards the transmedia content data item) and only one outgoingtime-ordered link. The path defined by the transmedia content subset 100is unidirectional and there is only one possible route from the subsetentry point 102 and the final transmedia content data item of the path(i.e. a transmedia content data item with an incoming time-ordered linkbut no outgoing time ordered link).

The transmedia content data items may also be grouped based on multiplecontent subsets in a non-linear network, such as non-linear network 110depicted in FIG. 2B. In this context, the term “non-linear” means thattime-ordered links between the data items of each network may form aplurality of different paths through the network 110 which start indifferent places, end in different places, branch, split, diverge, leavesome data items out of the path and/or overlap with other paths. Such anon-linear network 110 can also be considered to be a group oftransmedia content subsets which share one or more transmedia contentdata items and/or time-ordered content links.

In the depicted non-linear network 110, each transmedia content dataitem 104 a-c, 112 a-b can have one or more incoming time-ordered linksand one or more outgoing time-ordered links. The data items 112 a, 104 band 112 b form a second transmedia content subset which shares the dataitem 104 b with the first transmedia content subset 100.

FIG. 2C depicts a story universe 120, in which multiple, relatednon-linear networks are grouped or clustered together. In oneembodiment, the non-linear networks of a story universe do not sharetransmedia content data items and/or time-ordered links with thenon-linear networks of another, different story universe. However, in analternative embodiment, the non-linear networks of a story universe doshare one or more transmedia content data items and/or time-orderedlinks with the non-linear networks of another, different story universe.

The system of the present disclosure manages the transmedia content dataitems, transmedia content subsets and one or more non-linear networks,facilitates the generation and manipulation of items between and withinsubsets and networks so that storylines can be formed. Accordingly, thecreation of transmedia content subsets and non-linear networks by a userof the system enables collaboration between users of the system andallows consumption of the created storylines. The architecture of thesystem is depicted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 depicts the overall architecture of the system 200. The system200 includes a front end device 210, which is typically located on auser device such as a smartphone, tablet or PC that is operated directlyby the user of the system 200, and a back end device 230, which istypically located on one or more servers that are connected to the userdevice via a network such as the Internet.

The back end 230 contains global resources and processes that aremanaged, stored and executed at a central location or severaldistributed locations. The front end 210 contains resources andprocesses that are stored and executed on an individual user device. Theback end 230 is responsible for tasks that operate on large amounts ofdata and across multiple users and stories, while the front end 210 onlyhas access to the resources of a particular user (or a group of users)and focuses on presentation and interaction.

The front end 210 communicates with the back end 230 via the network,the communication layer 212 that is part of the front end 210 and theexperience control layer 232 that is part of the back end 230. Theexperience control layer 232 is responsible for handling thedistribution of transmedia content data items, access limitations,security and privacy aspects, handling of inappropriate content dataitems, and user-specific limitations such as age group restrictions. Itensures that inappropriate, illegal, unlicensed or IP-violating contentis flagged and/or removed, either automatically, semi-automatically ormanually. It also handles sessions as the user interacts with the systemand provides session specific contextual information, including theuser's geolocation, consumption environment and consumption device,which can then be used by the front end 210 to adapt the consumptionexperience accordingly. The experience control layer 232 also acts as acheckpoint for content validation, story verification, and story logic,in order to provide users with a consistent story experience.

The communication layer 212 performs client-side checks on permissions,content validation, and session management. While the final checkshappen at the experience control layer 232 of the back end 230, theadditional checks carried out in the communication layer 212 help inproviding a consistent experience to the user (e.g. not displayingcontent or features that cannot be accessed).

The front end 210 also includes the user interface (UI) component 220,which is responsible for displaying and presenting the transmediacontent data items to users, including visual, auditory and textualrepresentations, and is also responsible for receiving the user's inputthrough pointing devices, touch events, text input devices, audiocommands, live video, or any other kind of interaction. The UI component218 can adapt to the user's location, environment, or current user statein order to provide an optimized experience.

The visual navigation component 214 is also included in the front end210, and allows a user to explore, browse, filter and search thetransmedia content data items, transmedia content subsets and non-linearnetworks, and any other content provided by the platform. For navigationin the context of transmedia content and stories, the visual navigationcomponent 214 provides intelligent abstractions and higher-levelclusterings of transmedia content data items, transmedia content subsetsand non-linear networks, providing the user with an interface forinteractive visual exploration of the transmedia content, which enablesthe user to make navigation choices at a higher-level abstraction beforeexploring lower levels, down to single stories, i.e. transmedia contentsubsets, and individual transmedia content data items. The structure oftransmedia content subsets and non-linear network and the time-orderedlinks between transmedia content data items data items is visualized aswell, providing the user with information on how these data items arerelated to each other. In one embodiment of this visualisation, a graphstructure is employed, with nodes representing transmedia content dataitems, and connections representing the time-ordered content links. Inthe main, the evolution of the transmedia content subsets and non-linearnetworks is rendered in real-time as the subsets and non-linear networksare created and modified by all users of the system. In addition, in aparticular embodiment which is user initiated, for example via userselection or automatically based on user interaction, e.g. immediatelyor shortly after a given user logs in to the system, the recent pastevolution of the transmedia content subsets and non-linear networks,e.g. the evolution since last login of the given user can be displayedgraphically, e.g. in a time lapse rendering of the changes of thetransmedia content subsets and non-linear networks in the order in whichthey occurred. The operation of the visual navigation component 214 isdescribed in more detail with respect to FIGS. 9A and 9B below.

The social interaction component 216 handles visualisations and userinput related to interactions between individual users of the system200. It provides tools for editing a user's public information, enablingnotifications on other users creating content (following), endorsing andrating other users' content, and directly interacting with other usersthrough real-time messaging systems, discussion boards, and videoconferencing. These tools also allow users to collaboratively create newcontent (i.e. transmedia content data items) and author and edit stories(i.e. transmedia content subsets and/or non-linear networks), as well asdefine the access rights and permissions associated with suchcollaborative work. The enforcement of these rights is handled by theexperience control layer 232, as mentioned above.

In addition to the experience control layer 232, the back end 230comprises a user model component 234, a story model component 236, arecommender engine 238, and a metadata extraction component 240, inaddition to one or more data stores or computer memory for storing datarelated to the transmedia content such as the transmedia content dataitems, linking data, transmedia content subsets, non-linear networks,and metadata relating to the individual data items and linking data aswell as to the subsets and non-linear networks.

The user model component 234 represents user behaviour and properties.It is driven by a suite of algorithms and data collections, includingbut not limited to statistics, analytics and machine learning algorithmsoperating on user interaction patterns, consumption behaviour and socialinteractions. The analytics happens in real-time and the user modelcomponent 234 is continuously updated as the user interacts with thesystem 200. Additional information such as the user's geolocation can betaken into account as well. The corresponding data is stored in a userdatabase. The user model component 234 also comprises models for groupsof several users, which for example emerge during multiusercollaboration, consumption, geolocation, or social interactions. As partof the user model component 234, users and/or groups of users areprofiled and characterized according to their personality, productivitystage and other criteria. The user model component allows the system tomake predictions of user behaviour under real or hypotheticalconditions, which then feed into the recommender engine component 238.The methods employed by the user model component for prediction userbehaviour and creative state are described below in more detail withrespect to FIG. 8. The user model component 234 also permits thecorrelation of interaction patterns of users not identified to thesystem so as to re-identify users probabilistically.

The user model component 234 is also connected to the talent harvestcomponent, which, based on user behaviour, identifies individual usersor groups of users that fulfil certain criteria such as, for example,having a large amount of users consuming or endorsing their work, havingsignificant influence on other users' behaviours and opinions, or beinghighly popular personalities. The talent harvest component, in concertwith the recommender engine component 238, then influences the behaviourof such users of the system 200.

The story model component 236 characterises the content of singletransmedia content data items, transmedia content subsets, non-linearnetworks and whole story universe, and stores the corresponding data ina story world database. The characterisations are found throughalgorithms such as, but not limited to, metadata extraction, analytics,graph analysis, or any other algorithms operating on connections betweencontent in general. Metadata extraction extends to include visual,auditory or textual elements, as well as higher-level concepts likecharacters, character personality traits, actions, settings, andenvironments. The characterisation also takes into account how usersinteract with the content, including the analysis of consumptionpatterns, content ratings and content-related social interactionbehaviour. The corresponding updates of the story model component 236happen in real-time as users interact with the system 200 or as newcontent is created or existing content is modified. Additionally, thestory model component 236 makes use of story, characterisations(including metadata) to model story logic. Using story reasoning, theconsistency of individual stories can be verified and logicalinconsistencies can be prevented either when a story is created or atthe time of consumption. The story model component 236 alsocommunication with the story harvest component, which uses the dataprovided by the story model component 236 in order to identify andextract content (transmedia media content data items, transmedia contentsubsets, non-linear networks or higher-level abstractions).

The recommender engine component 238 is in communication with both thestory model component 236 and the user model component 234 and providesconceptual connections between the story model component 236 and theuser model component 234. The recommender engine component 238 uses dataanalytics to match content (transmedia content data items, transmediacontent subsets, non-linear networks) with users, suggesting users forcollaboration, suggesting content to be consumed, or suggesting stories,story arcs or story systems to be extended with new content. It alsotakes into consideration products and brands as a third dimension,resulting in an optimization in the three-dimensional user-story-brandspace. Recommendations can be explicit, with recommendations beingexplicitly labelled as such to the user, guiding the user through atransmedia content subset or non-linear by providing an optimalconsumption path or suggesting other users to collaborate with, or theycan be implicit, meaning the user's choice is biased towards certainelements of content (including transmedia content, advertisement,users), without making the bias explicitly visible to the user.

The metadata extraction component extracts metadata from transmediacontent (i.e. transmedia content data items, transmedia content subsetsand/or non-linear networks) automatically, semi-automatically, ormanually. The metadata extraction component 240 tags and annotatestransmedia content, providing a semantic abstraction not only of thecontent of individual transmedia content data items, but also of thetime-ordered links, transmedia content subsets, non-linear networks, andstory systems. The derived metadata thus spans a horizontal dimension(cross-domain, covering different types of media) as well as a verticalone (from single transmedia content data items to whole story systems).

Also depicted in FIG. 3 are story world database 280, media (content)database 282 and user database 284. The databases 280-284 are stored inmemory 301 of server device 230. The story world database 280 storesdata characterising and defining the structure of the transmedia contentsubsets, non-linear networks and whole story systems, for example by wayof linking data defining the subset structure. Additionally, metadataand graph analytics pertaining to the subsets and networks may also bestored in the story world database 280. The media database 282 storesindividual content items, and data characterising the content ofindividual transmedia content data items, e.g. metadata and graphanalytics for the individual content items. The user database 284 storesuser data pertaining to users of the system 200, including userbehaviour data defining how users have interacted with individualcontent items and subsets, and user preference data defining userindicated or derived preferences for content items and subsets.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary server device 230 on which the back end 230of the system 200 is implemented. It will be appreciated that the backend 230 or functional components thereof may be implemented acrossseveral servers or other devices. The server device 230 includes thememory 301, processing circuitry 302 and a network interface 303. Thememory may be any combination of one or more databases, other long-termstorage such as a hard disk drive or solid state drive, or RAM. Asdescribed above, the memory 301 stores the transmedia content data itemsand associated linking data, which define time-ordered content linksbetween the plurality of transmedia content data items. The plurality oftransmedia content data items are arranged into linked transmediacontent subsets comprising different groups of the transmedia contentdata items and different content links therebetween. The processingcircuitry 302 is in communication with the memory 301 and is configuredto receive instructions from a user device via the network interface tocreate new time-ordered content links between at least two of theplurality of transmedia content data items and modify 301 the linkingdata stored in the memory to include the new time-ordered content link.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary front end electronic user device 210 onwhich the front end 210 of system 200 is provisioned. The user device210 includes a memory 401, processing circuitry 402, network interface403 and a user interface 404. The user interface 404 may comprise one ormore of: a touch-sensitive input, such as a touch-sensitive display, atouchscreen, pointing device, keyboard, display device, audio outputdevice, and a tablet/stylus. The network interface 403 may be in wiredor wireless communication with a network such as the Internet and,ultimately, the server device 230 depicted in FIG. 4. The electronicdevice 210 receive user input at the user interface 404 and therebycommunicates with the server device 230 via the network interface 403and network interface 303, which provides the processor 302 withinstructions to create new time-ordered content links between thetransmedia content data items in the memory 301. The electronic device210 may also provide instructions to the server device 230 to delete ormodify existing time-ordered content links and/or transmedia contentdata items from the memory.

It will be appreciated that the system may comprise multiple electronicdevices 210, each configured to receive user input and therebycommunicate with the server device 230 and provide instructions tocreate, delete or modify time-ordered content links between thetransmedia content data items. Thus, multiple electronic devices 210,each being accessed by a different user, are adapted to process commoncontent links and content data items.

The memory 301 of the server device 230 may also store user data items,which are associated with users of the system 200 and comprise useridentification data, such as a username, password, email address,telephone number and other profile information. The user data items mayalso comprise, for each user of the system user preference datapertaining to each user's preferences, user behaviour data pertaining tothe each user's online behaviours, user interaction data pertaining tothe each user's interaction with other users, and/or user location datapertaining to the current determined and/or past determined location ofthe each user.

The server device 230 may also be configured to implement the user model234 of the system 200 as mentioned above. The processing circuitry 302of the device 230 can use the user model 234 to identify userinteractions of the users of the system 200 with the transmedia contentdata items and subsequently update the user interaction data stored inthe memory 301 in accordance with the user interaction.

The memory 301 may also store content characterisation data items, whichcharacterise one or more of the transmedia content data items. Inparticular, the memory 301 may store auditory characterisation datawhich characterises auditory components the transmedia content dataitems, visual characterisation data which characterises visualcomponents of the transmedia content data items, textualcharacterisation data which characterises textual components of thetransmedia content data items and/or interaction characterisation datawhich characterises interactive components, such as games, or quizzes,or puzzles, of the one or more transmedia content data items. Theprocessing circuitry 303 of the server device 230 can be furtherconfigured to provide a content subset modelling engine that processesthe content characterisation data items for each transmedia content dataitem in a given transmedia content subset and generates unique subsetcharacterisation data for the transmedia content subset based on theprocessed characterisation data.

The processing circuitry 302 may also implement the transmedia contentrecommender engine 238, which is configured to process thecharacterisation data items and the user data items for a given user andidentify transmedia content data items and surface identification(s) ofone or more of the transmedia content data items that are predicted tobe matched to users, and additionally can surface identification(s) ofother matched users of the system 200.

The processing circuitry 302 of the server device may also be configuredto implement the experience control layer 232 mentioned above. Theexperience control layer 232 implements a permission control systemwhich is used to determine whether a given user has permission to view,edit, modify or delete a given transmedia content data item,time-ordered content like, transmedia content subset or non-linearnetwork. Collaboration is a challenge in itself; however, authorshipattribution and consistency in particular are supported. A balance isthen provided between a very rigid and tight permission system, whichmight hinder collaboration and discourage potential contributors fromsharing their ideas, and an open system which allows any user to modifyor delete the content contributed by other users.

For a given transmedia content subset or non-linear network, created byan original first user (referenced hereinafter as “Alice”), and whichconsists of individual transmedia content data items connected bytime-ordered content links therebetween, this transmedia content subsetor non-linear network is attributed to and owned by Alice in metadataassociated with the transmedia content data items, linking data and theoriginal transmedia content subset and/or non-linear networkexclusively. The experience control layer 232 only allows modificationsto the original transmedia content subset or non-linear network byAlice. The system 200 is also configured such that a systemadministrator user or moderator user can provide or change permissionsfor and between all individual users, regardless of permissions assignedby individual users.

A second user (referenced hereinafter as “Bob”) may wish to contributeto the transmedia content subset or non-linear network. Bob may wish toinsert a new transmedia content data item into the transmedia contentsubset or non-linear network, and/or Bob may wish to create new linkingdata that defines an alternative path through the non-linear network ortransmedia content subset.

The experience control layer 232 does not permit Bob to modify theoriginal transmedia content subset or non-linear network that areattributed to and owned by Alice in the metadata. Instead, theexperience control layer 232 instructs the processor 302 to create acopy of the original transmedia content subset or non-linear network inthe memory 301, which includes the changes to the transmedia contentdata items and/or linking data input by Bob.

The copy will be exclusively owned by Bob in the metadata associatedwith the copied transmedia content subset or non-linear network, and assuch the experience control layer 232 will permit only Bob to edit ormodify the copied transmedia content subset or non-linear network.However, the original transmedia content data items and linking datacontributed by Alice remain attributed to Alice in the metadata, andonly the new transmedia content data items and linking data areattributed to Bob in the metadata. The copied transmedia content subsetor non-linear network maintains a reference to the original transmediacontent subset or non-linear network.

As Bob interacts with the content by creating, modifying and editingcontent items, subsets and non-linear networks, it updates in real timesuch that all other users can see the changes as they happen, includingAlice.

In an alternative embodiment, Bob can interact with the content bycreating, modifying and editing content items, subsets and non-linearnetworks so that the changes at this stage can only be seen by Bob. WhenBob is finished and no longer wishes to modify the content, subsets ornon-linear networks, he can formally submit his changes and theexperience control layer 232 provides the copied transmedia contentsubset or non-linear network to the user, more particularly to the userdevice of the user that is indicated by the metadata of the originaltransmedia content subset or non-linear network as the owner, e.g.Alice's user device, for review. Alice may then choose to “merge” thecopied transmedia content subset or non-linear network with theoriginal. The experience control layer 232 will delete the original andmodify the metadata of the copy to indicate that Alice is owner of thecopied transmedia content subset or non-linear network, since Bob willhave previously been designated in the metadata as owner of any items,subsets or networks which were created or modified by him. The metadataof the individual transmedia content items and linking data, other thanthe owner, is left unchanged.

Alice may approve of the modifications made by Bob, but may wish keepthe modifications as an optional alternative. In this case, she willchoose to “branch” the original transmedia content subset or non-linearnetwork. The experience control layer 232 will modify the originaltransmedia content subset or non-linear network to include any newtransmedia content data items and linking data contributed by Bob. Themetadata of the individual transmedia content items and linking data isunchanged, and the metadata for the modified original transmedia contentsubset or non-linear network still identifies Alice as the owner.

Finally, Alice may disapprove of the modification made by Bob, and canchoose to “push out” Bob's version. This causes the experience controllayer 232 to remove the reference link from the copy to the original.Again, the metadata of the individual transmedia content items andlinking data is unchanged. This means that Bob's version of the contentitems, subset and non-linear networks as a result of his creation and/ormodifications are now distinct from Alice's, and exists separately inmemory with corresponding metadata to indicate that he is the owner ofthis version.

The system 200 and experience control layer 232 may allow Alice to fullydelete Bob's edit, or force the modification to be hidden from otherusers of the system. Allowing for this option might be required in somecases, for example when copyright is infringed or the contentcontributed by Bob is inappropriate.

As mentioned above, the system 200 structures groups of content subsets(“storyworlds”), i.e. non-linear networks, as directed graphs ofconnected transmedia story data items and storylines, i.e. transmediacontent subsets, as sequences of connected transmedia content data itemsout of the generated non-linear networks graphs.

The story model component 236 of the system 200 arranges the stories andstoryworlds at the transmedia content level based on complex graphmetrics. The transmedia content data items are nodes. Edges of the graphdefine the time-ordered content links between transmedia content dataitems. The edges and nodes of the graph may be assigned with weightsderived from story attributes, e.g. number of likes received by usersconsuming the story. The graph-based model defines all of the possibleconsumption flows throughout a given graph and allows identification oftransmedia content data items which play key roles within thestoryworld. FIG. 6 depicts a graph-model of two non-linear networks oftransmedia content data items.

Each depicted non-linear network, 510 and 520 includes at least twosubset entry points 511 and 521 which define starting points in thesubset (and also any non-linear networks that the subsets are part of)from which the system should begin presenting the transmedia contentdata items. The first transmedia content data item in each non-linearnetwork has only out-going time ordered content links. Non-linearnetwork 511 has two distinct end points 513, 516, which are transmediacontent data items that have only incoming time-ordered content links.End point 513 is preceded by a branch 512 of the non-linear network,which shares only its first data item in common with a second brand 514.Branch 514 has an alternate path 515 which skips several of thetransmedia content data items of the rest of the branch and thenre-joins the branch 515 to terminate at the end point 516. In contrast,non-linear network 520 has four branches with four distinct end points523, 525, 526 and 527, which share varying numbers of transmedia contentdata items in common with one another. The data thus generated andstored which is representative of the non-linear network is structuraldata indicative of the nodes and edges and links therebetween, therebydefining the time-ordered structure of content data items in for thenon-linear network.

It will be appreciated that each transmedia content data item may haveany number of incoming or outgoing time ordered content links whichconnect the transmedia content data item to other transmedia contentdata items, except for the first and last transmedia content items in anon-linear network, which only have outgoing and incoming time-orderedcontent links respectively.

Furthermore, each of the non-linear networks 510, 520 may be consideredto contain multiple linear paths, which define each unique route throughthe non-linear network from the entry points to the last transmediacontent data item.

In a hierarchical system containing a lot of changing content atdifferent levels (story systems, non-linear networks, transmedia contentsubsets and individual transmedia content data items) users can easilyget lost in irrelevant content (for the user) or unappealing content(for the user). An engine guiding the user and fostering the creation ofhigh quality content is thus provided.

As mentioned above, the system 200 further includes a recommender enginecomponent 238. Users of the system, through the recommender enginecomponent 238, receive suggestions about possible story elements, i.e.transmedia content data items, to be consumed and/or extended with newcontent. Due to the hierarchic nature of the system, recommendations areissued at different levels of granularity, e.g. story system, non-linearnetworks, transmedia content subsets and individual transmedia contentdata items. Furthermore, recommendations are dynamic, i.e. they changewith continuously evolving content. Recommendations also take intoaccount preferences of the user to keep the user engaged with processingthe time-arranged content items. This can mean that individual contentitems from the same or other users with sufficiently similar oridentical content characteristic metadata, e.g. specifying content withsufficiently similar characters, occurring at sufficiently similar oridentical factual or fictional times, or in sufficiently similar oridentical factual or fictional times, as the characteristic metadata ofthe content which has already been utilised (consumed) by the user canbe surfaced by the recommender engine component 238.

The recommender engine component 238 is configured to access the memory301 of the server device 230 and surface one or more individual contentitems and/or linked transmedia content subsets to a user of the system.The surfaced content items or linked transmedia content subsets arechosen by the recommender engine component from the individualtransmedia content data items and transmedia content subsets stored inthe memory 301. In the present context, “surface” means that theselected one or more item is/are isolated from other items of contentand provided to the user, e.g. as a notification on the user device, oras a special flag associated with the surfaced item.

The recommender engine 238 component may also include a preference model600 that provides a predicted rating of a given transmedia content dataitem or transmedia content subset for a specific user of the system 200.The preference model 600 is depicted in FIG. 7. The preference model 600takes as input one or more transmedia content data items or transmediacontent subsets and provides as output predicted rating for each inputitem for a given user. The preference model 600 achieves this by, at afirst step 601, removing global effects. Some users might, for example,tend to constantly give lower ratings than others. Removing this biasbefore processing the input items improves prediction accuracy. In asecond step 602, the model collects the predictions of n independentstate of the art algorithms (such as Rank-based SVD). The system thenbuilds an ensemble prediction at step 603 by using a Lasso Regression.In the last step 604, the global effects are added back to the ensembleprediction to obtain the final rating (or score) 605 for the given user.

The recommender engine may also include a user-brand match component,which is configured to provide, for a given user, a prediction of apreference for a given branded content data item, and a branded contentmodel that provides, for a given transmedia content data item, aprediction of the suitability of a given branded content data item, e.g.an advertisement.

The transmedia content recommender engine is configured to query thepreference model, user-brand match component and brand model componentby providing the preference model, user-brand match component and brandmodel with a transmedia content parameter, user data for the given userand a given branded content data item, and to maximise the sum of theoutput for the preference model, user-brand match component and brandmodel over the transmedia content parameter. This three-dimensionaloptimisation ensures that users are engaged by relevant, while consumingcontent containing advertisements of a desired brand.

The transmedia content recommender engine is configured to surface thetransmedia content data item or transmedia content subset that has themaximum output of the three-dimensional optimisation.

The recommender engine component 238 may also take into account a givenuser's defined preferences, and other predicted properties such as userbehaviour, or emotional state. In order to achieve this, the recommenderengine component 238 communicates with the user model component 234depicted in FIG. 3 and shown in more detail in FIG. 8. The user modelcomponent 234 includes a state model 701, behaviour model 702, userprofile 703, interaction model 704 and talent harvest component 705.

Modelling the state of the user, using state model component 701 permitspersonalised recommendations to be provided by the recommender enginecomponent 238, and also provides accurate predictions of user behaviourby the behaviour model component 702. The state model component 701 mayalso be used to customise the user interface 218 and encourage users tocreate new content, i.e. new transmedia content data items andtime-ordered content links, within the system 200. The state modelcomponent 701 represents and predicts the continuous creational,emotional and affective state of users of the system 200. The creationalstate describes if the user is in the mood for consuming transmediacontent subsets or non-linear networks or contributing their owntransmedia content data items and time-ordered content links. Theaffective state indicates whether the user is, for example, motivated orbored. The emotional state describes the emotions that individualtransmedia content data items or transmedia content subsets/non-linearnetworks trigger in the user.

Due to the hierarchy of the system, i.e. the logical separation oftransmedia content into levels of the individual transmedia content dataitems, transmedia content subsets, non-linear networks and storyuniverse, user behaviour is predicted at different levels of granularityin two main dimensions, namely: (1) the transmedia content hierarchy;and (2) the interaction of users with other users. User dynamics are ofinterest at different levels of user granularity, for example in respectof: single users, small groups, audiences. The behaviour model component702 predicts the user behaviour in both of these dimensions and providesinsights into dynamic behaviour for load balancing, information aboutthe most likely path of a user through a given non-linear network andpredicts the evolution of the whole system 200.

The user preference component 703 provides a detailed profiling for eachuser of the system 200, including, for example, demographics (e.g. age,gender, etc.), personality traits (e.g. Big 5) and location data (GPS).

The interaction model component 704 monitors and predicts socialinteractions of users. The analysis and prediction of socialinteractions of groups of contributors can be used by the system 200 toencourage collaboration across all levels of the system, predict thequality of stories and influence user community building.

Talent harvest component 705 identifies users of the system 200 withexceptional talent at creating transmedia content, and categorises theseusers according to their type of talent, e.g. a Star Wars expert, anartist doing funny comic strips or a user resonating with a specificaudience.

The user model component 234 is connected to and in communication withthe story model component 236, the recommender engine component 238 andthe metadata extraction component 240, with these components being bothinputs and outputs to the user model component 234, allowing dataexchange therebetween.

Navigating through a large quantity of transmedia content data items,transmedia content subsets and non-linear networks that are provided tousers by the system 200, in a way that users and user groups can createand consume the data quickly on a range of devices, including personalcomputers, laptops, tablets, mobile devices etc. is challenging. Theuser interface component 218 guides the user in a non-disruptive way,whilst also avoiding repetitive meandering and visual overload ofcontent creation and navigation tools on the multiple, hierarchicallevels of the transmedia content.

The user interface component 218 presents the transmedia content dataitems, transmedia content subsets and non-linear networks as follows. Athree-dimensional representation is utilised based on one or morethree-dimensional shapes which can be manipulated by the user. In atwo-dimensional system involving a two-dimensional display screen, atwo-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional shape(s) is/aregenerated, and the shape(s) utilised may be one or more spheres orellipsoids, which use hierarchically-connected visual metaphors toprovide further information on the transmedia content data items and howthey are related and connected in a time-based manner for users andgroups of users. This is achieved in a non-disruptive andnon-distracting manner. It will be appreciated that anythree-dimensional object may be used to present the transmedia content.In one embodiment of the present invention, the visual metaphors canequate to features of a planet, such as continental landmasses, oceans,clouds, mountain ranges and coastlines.

FIGS. 9A and 9B depict an example of the user interface that ispresented to a user of the system 200 at different levels of thehierarchical tree structure. FIG. 9A depicts a higher-level view of thetransmedia content 800 which depicts several spheres 801, 802. Eachsphere 801, 802 represents a storyworld, i.e. groups of transmediacontent subsets and non-linear networks that are semantically similar,e.g. the constituent transmedia content data items relate to the samestory characters or story universe. The spheres themselves may bevisually clustered together in the displayed three-dimensionalrepresentation according to semantic similarity between the storyworlds.

A user may select one of the spheres 801, 802, which causes the userinterface 800 to transition to a modified user interface 810, whichdepicts the selected single sphere 811 with additional detail.Additional surface features of the selected sphere 811 are displayed inuser interface 810, such as individual transmedia content subsets ornon-linear networks indicated by icons 813, and representative images ofthe content 814. The visual metaphors are provided such thatsemantically similar transmedia content subsets and non-linear networksare depicted on the same continents 812 on the surface of the planet811. When a user wishes to consume or edit an individual transmediacontent subset or non-linear network, the user can select one of theicons 813 or images 814 and the user interface 810 transitions to show agraph-structure of the subset/network and/or the individual transmediacontent data items.

FIG. 10 depicts a process for modifying the linking data which definestime-ordered content links between transmedia content data items storedin the memory 301 of the server device 230. At step 1001 a memory, i.e.the memory 301 of server device 230, is accessed. The memory 301 storesa plurality of transmedia content data items and the associated linkingdata. At step 1002, the processing circuitry 302 of the server device230 arranges the plurality of transmedia content data items into linkedtransmedia content subsets made up of different groups of the transmediacontent data items and the time-ordered content links between theelements of those groups. At step 1003, the server device 230 receivesone or more instructions to create a new time-ordered content linkbetween at least two of the plurality of transmedia content data items,e.g. from an electronic device 210 via network interface 303. At step1004, the processing circuitry 302 modifies the linking data stored inthe memory 301 to include the new time-ordered content link indicated bythe received instructions.

While some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have beenshown in the drawings and described herein, it will be appreciated thatthe methods described herein may be deployed in part or in whole througha computing apparatus that executes computer software, program codes,and/or instructions on processing circuitry, which may be implemented byor on one or more discrete processors. As a result, the claimedelectronic device, apparatus and system can be implemented via computersoftware being executed by the processing circuitry. The presentdisclosure may be implemented as a method in a system, or on anapparatus or electronic device, as part of or in relation to theapparatus or device, or as a computer program product embodied in acomputer readable medium executable on one or more apparatuses orelectronic devices.

A processor as disclosed herein may be any kind of computational orprocessing device capable of executing program instructions, codes,binary instructions and the like. The processor may be or may include asignal processor, digital processor, embedded processor, microprocessoror any variant such as a co-processor (math co-processor, graphicco-processor, communication co-processor and the like) and the like thatmay directly or indirectly facilitate execution of program code orprogram instructions stored thereon. Each processor may be realized asone or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embeddedmicrocontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or otherprogrammable device, along with internal and/or external memory. A givenprocessor may also, or instead, be embodied as an application specificintegrated circuit, a programmable gate array, programmable array logic,or any other device or combination of devices that may be configured toprocess electronic signals. In addition, each processor may enableexecution of multiple programs, threads, and codes. The threads may beexecuted simultaneously to enhance the performance of the processor andto facilitate simultaneous operations of the application. By way ofimplementation, the methods, program codes, program instructions and thelike described herein may be implemented in one or more thread. Thethread may spawn other threads that may have assigned prioritiesassociated with them; the processor may execute these threads based onpriority or any other order based on instructions provided in theprogram code.

Each processor may access one or more memories, for example one or morenon-transitory storage media which store the software, executable code,and instructions as described and claimed herein. A storage mediumassociated with the processor for storing methods, programs, codes,program instructions or other type of instructions capable of beingexecuted by the computing or processing device may include but may notbe limited to one or more of a CD-ROM, DVD, memory, hard disk, flashdrive, RAM, ROM, cache and the like.

The methods and/or processes disclosed herein, and steps associatedtherewith, may be realized in hardware, software or a combination ofhardware and software suitable for a particular application. Thehardware may include a general purpose computer and/or dedicatedcomputing device or specific computing device or particular aspect orcomponent of a specific computing device.

The computer executable code may be created using a structuredprogramming language such as C, an object oriented programming languagesuch as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language(including assembly languages, hardware description languages, anddatabase programming languages and technologies) that may be stored,compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well asheterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, orcombinations of different hardware and software, or any other machinecapable of executing program instructions.

Thus, in one aspect, the methods described above and combinationsthereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executingon one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof. In anotheraspect, the methods may be embodied in a system that performs the stepsthereof, and may be distributed across electronic devices in a number ofways, or all of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated,standalone electronic device or other hardware. In another aspect, themeans for performing the steps associated with the processes describedabove may include any of the hardware and/or software described above.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the disclosure (especially in the context of thefollowing claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and theplural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. The terms “comprising”, “having”, “including”, and “containing”are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e. meaning “including, butnot limited to”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of valuesherein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referringindividually to each separate value falling within the range, unlessotherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated intothe specification as if it were individually recited herein.

The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”)provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosureand does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosure unlessotherwise claimed.

The present disclosure has been provided above by way of example only,and it will be appreciated that modifications of detail can be madewithin the scope of the claims which define aspects of the invention.

1. An apparatus for managing non-linear transmedia content datacomprising: a memory configured to store a plurality of transmediacontent data items and associated linking data which define time-orderedcontent links between the plurality of transmedia content data items,the plurality of transmedia content data items being arranged intolinked transmedia content subsets comprising different groups of thetransmedia content data items and different content links therebetween;processing circuitry, in communication with the memory, configured toutilise a control engine to: receive, from an electronic device, one ormore instructions to create a new time-ordered content link between atleast two of the plurality of transmedia content data items; and modifythe linking data stored in the memory to include the new time-orderedcontent link.
 2. A system comprising: an apparatus for managingnon-linear transmedia content data, the apparatus comprising: a memoryconfigured to store a plurality of transmedia content data items andassociated linking data which define time-ordered content links betweenthe plurality of transmedia content data items, the plurality oftransmedia content data items being arranged into linked transmediacontent subsets comprising different groups of the transmedia contentdata items and different content links therebetween; processingcircuitry, in communication with the memory, configured to utilise acontrol engine to: receive, from an electronic device, one or moreinstructions to create a new time-ordered content link between at leasttwo of the plurality of transmedia content data items; and modify thelinking data stored in the memory to include the new time-orderedcontent link; and an electronic device configured to be in communicationwith the apparatus, and further configured to receive user input andthereby communicate with the processor and provide the one or moreinstructions to create each new time-ordered content link between the atleast two of the plurality of transmedia content data items.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of electronic deviceseach configured to receive user input and thereby communicate with theprocessor and provide instructions to create time-ordered content linksbetween at least three of the plurality of transmedia content dataitems.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory is furtherconfigured to store: a plurality of user data items, each data itembeing associated with a user of the system, wherein each user of thesystem may be associated with one or more of the user data items.
 5. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the plurality of user data items comprises atleast user identification data for each user of the system.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the plurality of user data items comprises auser profile for each user of the system.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the user profile comprises, for the each user of the system, oneor more of: user preference data pertaining to the each user'spreferences; user behaviour data pertaining to the each user's onlinebehaviours; user interaction data pertaining to the each user'sinteraction with other users; and/or user location data pertaining tothe current determined and/or past determined location of the each user.8. The system of any one of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to provide a user modelling engine configured toidentify user interaction of a given user with the one or more contentitems and update the user interaction data of the given user to beindicative of the one or more transmedia content items therebyinteracted with.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory is furtherconfigured to store: a plurality of content characterisation data items,each content characterisation data item characterizing one or more ofthe transmedia content data items, wherein each content characterisationdata item is associated with at least one or with a plurality of thecontent data items.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the each contentcharacterisation data item characterizes one or more of the transmediacontent data items with one or more of the following: auditorycharacterisation data pertaining to one or more auditory components ofthe one or more transmedia content data items; visual characterisationdata pertaining to one or more visual components of the one or moretransmedia content data items; textual characterisation data pertainingto one or more textual components of the one or more transmedia contentdata items; and interaction characterisation data pertaining to one ormore interactive components of the one or more transmedia content dataitems.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to provide a content subset modelling engineconfigured to process at least one content characterisation data itemfor each transmedia content data item in a given transmedia contentsubset and thereby generate unique subset characterisation data for thegiven transmedia content subset based on the processed characterisationdata.
 12. The system of any one of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to provide a recommender engineconfigured to process the characterisation data items and the user dataitems for a given user and identify, from the characterisation dataitems, transmedia content data items which are sufficiently similar topreferred content items of the given user and surface the sufficientlysimilar items to the given user.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein thetransmedia content data items relate to narrative elements of thetransmedia content data items.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thetime-ordered content links define a narrative order of the transmediacontent data items.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein each time-orderedcontent link defines a directional link from a first transmedia contentdata item to a second transmedia content data item of the plurality oftransmedia content data items.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein thefirst transmedia content data item has a plurality of outgoingtime-ordered content links.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein thesecond transmedia content data item has a plurality of incomingtime-ordered content links.
 18. The system of any one of claim 15,wherein the memory is further configured to store a plurality of subsetentry points for the plurality of transmedia content subsets.
 19. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein each subset entry point is a flag indicatinga transmedia content data item that has at least one outgoingtime-ordered link and no incoming time-ordered links.
 20. The system ofclaim 19, wherein each linked transmedia content subset defines a linearpath, wherein a linear path comprises a subset entry point, one or moretransmedia content data items and one or more time ordered links betweenthe subset entry point and the transmedia content data items.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein two or more transmedia content subsets shareone or more subset entry points, one or more transmedia content dataitems and/or one or more time ordered content links.
 22. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the processing circuity is configured to transmittransmedia content data comprising the linking data and one or more ofthe transmedia content items to the electronic device.
 23. The system ofclaim 22, further comprising the electronic device, wherein theelectronic device is configured to receive the transmedia content data.24. The system of claim 23, wherein the electronic device is configuredto output the transmedia content data on an output device connected tothe electronic device such that a user of the electronic device ispresented with the transmedia content data items.
 25. The system ofclaim 24, wherein the electronic device is configured accept input, viaa user input interface, indicative of a subset entry point.
 26. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein the electronic device is configured tooutput the transmedia content data item indicated by the selected subsetentry point.
 27. The system of claim 26, wherein the electronic deviceis configured to display each subsequent transmedia content data item inturn according to the time-ordered links between the transmedia contentdata items.
 28. The system of claim 27, wherein the electronic device isconfigured to receive input, via a user input interface, indicative ofone of a plurality of transmedia content subsets when the currentlyoutput transmedia content data item is shared among the plurality oftransmedia content subsets.
 29. The system of any one of claim 26,wherein the electronic device is configured to receive input, via theuser input interface, to skip a selected transmedia content data itemand output to display a selected transmedia content data item.
 30. Thesystem of any one of claim 22, wherein the electronic device furthercomprises a communication layer, wherein the transmedia content data isreceived via the communication layer and instructions are provided tothe processor via the communication layer.
 31. The system of claim 30,wherein the communication layer is configured to check that a useraccount associated with the electronic device is permitted to view thetransmedia content data and/or provide one or more instructions tocreate a new time-ordered content link between at least two of theplurality of transmedia content data items.
 32. The system of claim 31,wherein the communication layer is configured to prevent the electronicdevice from outputting the transmedia content data and/or providing oneor more instructions to create a new time-ordered content link if theuser account is not permitted.
 33. The system of any one of claim 22,wherein the system further comprises an experience control layer,wherein the processing circuitry is configured to transmit thetransmedia content data to the electronic device via the experiencecontrol layer, and wherein instruction to create a new-time orderedcontent link are received from the electronic device via the experiencecontrol layer.
 34. The system of claim 33, wherein the experiencecontrol layer is configured to check that a user account associated withthe electronic device is permitted to view the transmedia content dataand/or provide one or more instructions to create a new time-orderedcontent link between at least two of the plurality of transmedia contentdata items.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the communication layeris configured to prevent the electronic device from outputting thetransmedia content data and/or providing one or more instructions tocreate a new time-ordered content link if the user account is notpermitted.
 36. A computer-implemented method for managing non-lineartransmedia content data comprising: providing a memory configured tostore a plurality of transmedia content data items and associatedlinking data which define time-ordered content links between theplurality of transmedia content data items; arranging the plurality oftransmedia content data items into linked transmedia content subsetscomprising different groups of the transmedia content data items anddifferent content links therebetween; receiving one or more instructionsto create a new time-ordered content link between at least two of theplurality of transmedia content data items; and modifying the linkingdata stored in the memory to include the new time-ordered content link.